On a Collection of Chelonians and Snakes from Chota Nagpur, Bihar

ON A COLLECTION OF CHELONIANS AND SNAKES FROM CHOTA NAGPUR, BIHAR

By M. N. ACHARJI, M .Sc., Assistant Zoologist, Zoological Survey f)f India, Oalcutta

I. INTRODUCTION

In order to study the " ecological succession.l " oft anima.ls, in the proposed dam sites2 in Chota Nagpur, Bihar, two parties were sent in April and November 1948, for the collection of zoological material. During their fa~nistic survey of the areas, where dams are to be con.. structed, they collected various types of animals3 and made notes on their ecological conditions, habits, habitats, etc. In addition to this collection a small collection of Chelonians, com... prising 14 specimens referable to three species was made from the Riyer Ganges below Rajmahal, District Chota Nagpur, Bihar, in the early part of January 1954. The present scientific report is based on both the coHec tions. From zoogeographical point of view and taking into consideration the distribution of Indian reptiles, Smith4 has divided India, including Indo-Chinese subregions, Tenasserim and Siam into twelve well defined faunistic zones. Regarding the Chota Nagpur area he observed &8 follows:

" This includes Bihar south of the Gangetic Plain, the northern part of Orissa, and the eastern part of the Central Provinces. This area is mountainous, and except in the neighbourhood of Chaibasa, where industrial occupations have sprung up in the recent years, is heavily forested and sparsely popula ted. The d.verage rainfall is between 50 to 70 inches in the year, being higher near the coast, lower inland. Its fauna is incom.pletely known, but is of interest in that it contains a Him.alayan and Assamese element. although separated from. the mountains of those parts by the Gangetic Plain. The highest pea.k in Chota N agpur area is Parasnath Hill, an isolated mountain of 4,800 feet, altitude, in its north-eastern corner; the nearest; pOInt to it in the Him,alayas is the Nepal foot-hills nearly 200 m.iles away." Annandale5 in his admirable paper" The tortoises of Chota Nagpur " dealt mainly with two families Testudinidae (land forms) and Triony chidae (mud forms) and made no mention of the family Emydidae (fresh-water forms) which comprises almost the major portion of the Cbelonian6 population of that area.

1 Elton, Charles, Animal Ecology, p. 18 (1927). 2 Some of the dams have now been completed in the Dam.odar Valley areas, popularly known as D.V.C. . 3 Bhola Nath, Bee. Ind. MUll., XLVIII, pp. 24-44 (1950). . • Sm.ith, M. A., Fauna Brit. India (Rept. & Amph.), I, pp. 18-21 (1931). I Annandale, N., Rec. Ind. Mus., IX, pp. 63.78 (1913). S The word Chelonian has been used in a general sense.

383 4 ZSI/55 13 384 Records of the Indian Museum [VOL. 53,

Blanford,1 in his account of " The distribution of Vertebrate animals in India, Ceylon and Burma ", came to the conclusion that the fauna of the Parasnath Hills contains a large number of animals found in the Himalayas and its neighbouring ar'eas and as such is of great interest from zoogeographical point of view. In recent years, the enunciation of the Satpura hypothesis by Hora 2 and its amplification by a number of his students 3, 4, 5 have added much greater importance to the Chota Nagpur region, as it is believed to have served as route of migration of the so-called Malayan fauna to Peninsular India during successive periods of Pleistocene glaciations. Menon3, through faunistic surveys has shown that Eastern Ghats, 80 far as the fish-fauna is concerned, did not serve as the route of migration which lay across the Garo-Rajmahal Gap.

II. PROVENANCE OF MATERIAL Altogether 46 species of reptiles referable to 5 families were studied as follows: Testudines: Emydidae 2 Trionychidae 1 Serpentes: Boidae 1; Colubridae 7; Viperidae 1. Collections were made from the following localities6 :- Shore of a tank near Inspection Bungalow, Barakar, West Bengal. ;~ania. Pahar (Durgapur), alt. ca. 1,480 ft., Manbhum. district, Bihar. Inanpur, Manbhum. district, Bihar Panchet Hills, a.lt. ca. 1,600 ft. situated halfway between Raghunathpur and the junction of Barakar and Damodar rivers, 23°37' N. and 87°47' E. Manbhum district, Bihar. Kumardhubi near Ranigunge Coat fields, Bihar. Konar river, Hazaribagh district, Bihar. Maithon Hills (near the Dam. site), alt. ca. 725 ft., Bihar. Charan Hill, N. W. of Barakar. Chaurasi near Raghunathpur, Manbhum dist.rict, Bihar.

III. SYSTEMATIC LIST OF SPECIES ',rhe following species are represented in the collection :-

CHELONIANS Family EMYDIDAE H ardella thurgii (Gray) 4 specimens Kachttga o.hongoka (Gray) 9 " Kachuga kachuga (Gray) 3 "

I Blanford, W. '1'., Phil. Tran8. Roy. Soc. CLXLIV (B), pp. 335-436 (1 nOll.

:I Rora, S. L., Science Progress, No. 162, pp. 245-255 (1953). I Menon, A. G. K., Proc. Nat. In8t. Sci. India XVII, pp. 475-497 (1951). • Silas, E. G., ibid. XVIII (5), pp. 423-448 (1952). I Menon, A. G. K., ibid. XX (4), pp. 467-493 (1954). e For Physiography and detailed description of the localities, pleac;e see Bhola N ath , Rec. Ind. Mus., XLVIII, pp. 29-31 (1950). 1955] M. N. ACHARJI: Ohelonians and snakes 385

Family TRIONYCHIDAE Lissemys punctata granosa (Schoepff.) 1 specimen

SNAKES Family BOIDAE Eryx conicus (Schneid.) 1 specimen Family COLUBRIDAE Ptyas mucosus (Linn.) 1 specimen Oligodon cyclurus (Cantor) 1 , , Natrix stolata (Linn.) 10 specimens N atrix piscator (Schneid.) 4 , , Boiga trigonata (Schneid.) 1 specimen Lycodon aulicus (Linn.) 2 specimens Subfamily HOJIALOPSINAE Enhydris enhydris (Schneid.) 7 specimens Family VIPERIDAE Subfamily VIPERINAE Echis carinatus (Schneid.) 2 specimens

IV ACKNOWLEDGMENT I am grateful to Dr. 'S. L. Hora, Director, Zoological Survey of India, for kindly going through this report and making valuable suggestions for its improvement.

V SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT Order TESTUDINES Family EMYDIDAE

Bardella thurgii (Gray) 1831. Emy8 thurgii, Gray, Syn. Rept. pp. 22, 72 (type locality: India). 1912. Hat·della thurgi, Chaudhuri, Ree. Indian Mus. VII, p. 213. 1949 Hardella thurgii, Constable, Bull. MU8. compo Zool. Harv. CIll; no. 2. p. 76. Specimens collected.-4~~ from the R. Ganges, below Rajmahal, district Santal Parganas, Bihar (23-25. i. 1954). Measurement8 (in m.m,.).-Length of the carapace (straight) (Coll. no. 10 25.i.54)- 313 and the smallest ~ (Coll. no. 13)-260; Breadth of the carapaoo (straight)--230 and 190 respectively. It has been observed that Gray in the original description (loc. cit· p.p. 22 and 72) of the species has. spelt the specific name as thurJoi several tImes, but in the list of " Addition and correction" which came 'out as an appendix to the same volume, on page 72 has spelt the specific name as thurgii. Smith in the revised edition of the Fauna British India series (Rept. & Amph.) volume I, p. 122 (1931) has show the specific name as thurgi. It seems that the correct spelling should be thurgii and not thurgi. I have adopted the same. Constable (loc. oit. p. 79) as also done the same. 386 Records of the 1ndian Museum [VOL. 53,

Kachuga dhongoka (Gray) 1834. Emys dhongoka Gray, Illus. indian Zool. III, pI. ix (typ0 locality North India). 1912. Kaehuga dhongoka, Chaudhuri, Ree. Indian Mus. VII, p. 212.

Specimens collected.-9 (3d'c3', 5~~, 1 juv. unsexed) from the R. Gan ges, below Rajmahal, Chota Nagpur, Bihar (23-26.i.54).

MtaBurement6 (in lllm.).-Length of the largest carapace (straight)-290; Breadth of the carapaoe-90. Shell brownish above with not very distinct (in dry shell) longitudinal stripe~. The juvenile specimen (colI. no. 14 Jan. 1954) had traces of spots on each shield.

Chiefly found in the Gangetic river system including the Brahma putra in Assam (I. M. Reg. no. 18319. Sonapur, Assam by L. W. Middleton).

Kachuga kachuga (Gray)

1831. Emy8 kaehuga Gray, lllus. Indian Zool. pt. 5, pl. 9 (type locality N.lndia,).

1931. Kackuga kachuga, Sluith, Fauna Brit. India (Rept. & Amphibia) I; p. 131.

Specimens collected.-3 (I&, and 2 ~~) from the R. Ganges below Rajmahal, Santal Parganas, Bihar (23.i.54) .

....'Measurements (in mm.}.-Length of (arapace (straight) of tho largest ~ (colI. no. 15) -248 ; Breadth of the carapace-200.

Shell olive in colonr, yellowish below. In the living example crimson red noticed on the top of the head, extending to the fore part of the carapace. This condition of colouring may be associated with the breeding season.

Kachuga kachuga can be distinguished from its allied species Kachuga dhongoka by its larger size and very smooth carapace. This tortoise is largely aquatic in habits, sitting on the edge of the river at dusk and at slighest alarm dives down in the river. The sense of hearing is not very acute, bllt the sense of smell is very well developed.

'From enquiries made from the turtle hunters on the spot it appears t1n.at there are at least six distinct species of water tortoises) which they could easily distinguish. Out of these, three species Hardel"la th'Urgii, K. dhongoka and K. l~achuga were collected. Popular local names of all the species were ascertained from the turtle catchers, who belonged mostly to the tribal group of people inhabiting the whele of Santa.l Parganae. 1965] M. N. ACHARJI: Ohelonians and snakes 387

TABLE I. SHOWING LOCAL NAME AND DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES

Soientifio nama of the LooaJ name Distribution Remarks species

Family EMYDIDAE (Hard-"sheIIed)

Kachuga kach1tga (Gray) Sal Gangetic river system Very common·

Kachuga dhongoka (Gray) Dhoor or Dhundi. Ganges as far West as Ditto. Allahabad and north to Nepal.

Kachuga tectum (Gray) Ponchoria Ganges, Brahmaputra Occasionai. and Indus river system.

Ha1'della tkurgii (Gray) Kalikattuas Gangetic and Brahma- Abundant. putra' river system.

Family TRIONYCHIDAE (Soft-shelled)

Trionyx gange#cu8 Cuvier Katta, Kachims Common in the lower Common. or Kachapps. reaches of the Ganges.

Ohitra indica (Gray) Sim Not uncommon in the Occasional. Gangetic delta.

In 1912, Chaudhuri1 made certain observations on the Chelonians of the" Middle Ganges and Brahmaputra", and recorded that the local turtle hunters could easily distinguish 9 species of aquatic tOl"toises found in the Ganges below Rajmahal. During my investigation cover ing one week, I could trace from the entire catch of the turtle hunters six species of tortoise only as enumerated above and was unable to trace out specimens of Kachuga smithii, Trionyx hurum and Lissemys punctata (=Emyda granosa) which are said to be found below Rajmahal as stated by Chaudhuri. From a zoogeographical point of view it is very likely that Kachuga smithii, Trionyx hurum and Lissemys punctata ma.y occur in the Ganges system as well. According to Smith2 Kachuga smithii and Lissemys punctata are found in the Ganges and Indus rivers, .whereas Trionyx hurum has been recorded from the Ganges and Brah maputra. rivers. The Ganges and the Indus systems together for .. med a continuous westward flo\ving drainage along the base of the Himalayas durin.g the Pliocene-Pleistocel1e and probably only during the late Pleistocene or the recent epochs this drainage was cut into two separate systems, one flowing westwards as the present day Indus and the other eastwards as the Ga.nges.3

1 Chaudhuri, B.L., Rec. Indian, Mu&. VII, p. 212·214 (1912). 2 Smith, M.A., Fauna Brit. India (Rept. & Amph.) I, pp. 126, 159, 173 (1931). 3 Hora, S. L., Anniversary Address, Nat. In&t. Sci. India, pp. 1-13 (1953). 388 Records of the Indian Museum [VOL. 53,

Family TRIONYCHIDAE Lissemys punctata granosa (Schoepff.) 1792. Tutudo grano8a, Schoep:f£, Hist. Test., p. 127, pIs. xxx (type locality: Coromandel coast}. 1913. Emyda granosa intermedia, Annandale, Bee. Indian MU8. VII, pp. 172- 176, pI. VI and p. 264 (type locality: Purulia., Manbhum distriot, Santal Parganas ; Ind. Mus.).

Specimens collected.-l juv. (unsexed) "from the shore of a tank near Inspection Bungalow, Barakar, Burdwan district, Bengal (now West Bengal), (8. xi. 48) Chota Nagpur Survey.

Measurements (in mm.).-Length of the oarapace (straight) 86; Breadth of the car& pace-81 ; Length of the plastron (Not.ch to Notch)-91. . Plastral callosit.ies 6, ento plastral callosity very feebly developed; fore limbs and hind limbs with 3 claws.

Carapace olive-brown without any markin~s head greenish, olive with black streaks. Mostly found in the rivers. Annandale states that "This race is apparently common .all over Chota Nagpur except probably in the hIlls" .

In the' " Taxonomic Assessment of a species "Hora 1 has discussed in detail the interspecific relation of a species and the conception of a species as differently understood by herpetologists at different stages and the category of various changes h'rought about by the Scientists in the nomenclat.ure. Smith2 while revising the Indian Testudines in the Fauna of the British India series on the ground of" Rules of Zoological nomenclature" proposed a new name Lissemy~ for the well established generic name Emyda and recognised only one sp~cie8 Lissemys punctata in place of Emyda granosa, E. vittata and E. scutata and regarded [Jranosa and scutata as of interspecific rank. Thus Emyda granosa intermedia Annandale 1912, became synonymous with Lissemys punctata granosa (Schoepff.).

Order SQUAMATA Suborder SERPENTEB Family BOIDAE Eryx conic us (Schneider)

1943. Eryx COniC1I8, Smith, Fauna Brit. Inelia, (Rept. & Amph.) III, p. 112. 8 peci1nens collected.-One (dissected specimen) from the base 0.1 Panchet Hills, about 3 miles from Inanpur Inspection Bungalow, Manbhum district, Bihar, (4. xii. 1948) Chota Nagpur Survey.

1 Hora, S. L., ,I. zool. Soc. India I, no. 2, pp. 92-96 (1949).

2 Smith, M A., Fauna Brit. India (Rept. & Amph.) I, p. 154-160 (1931). 1955] M. N. ACHARJI : Chelonians amd sna,kes 389

Rostral visibl~ from above; nostril slit-like, situated in the enlarged scales of the nasal and inter-nasals; 12 scales round the eye. Ventrals 164, subcaudals 19. Mental groove absent. Tail pointed. Measurements (in mm.).-Length of the head (measured dorsal1y)-17. Maximum width of the head-II. Total length-336. Very little is known about its habits. Fowler! has noted Eryx jaculus (Linn.) and Eryx j . .iohni (Russell) are ovoviviparous, and it is quite likely that other species of Eryx have similar habit.s. It has been recorded from Najni TaJ, alt. ca. 6,000 ft., Western Himalayas (I. M. Reg. No .. 16115).

Family COLUBRIDAE Ptyas mUCOStls (Linn.)

1"/58. Ooluber mUC08U8, Linnaeus, BY8t. Nat. Ed. 10, I, p. 226 (type locality India).

1949. Ptyas mUC08US, Constable, Bull. ~Ius. compo Zool. lIan'. eIII p.27. Specimens collected .. -l Juv. from Chaurasi, 2! miles W of Inanpur, Manbhum district,. Bihar, (26.xi.1948), Chota Nagpur Survey. Scales in the midbody 17 ; Ventrals 194 ; anal divided; -upper labials 8, 4th and 5th entering the eye. Total length-685 mm. Recorded from the Western Himalayas (Almora, Simla Hills: I. M. Reg. No. 4130 and 7279).

OIigodon cyclurus (Cantor) l839. Ooronella cyclura, Cantor, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. p. 50 (type locality not known). 1943. Oligpdon cyclurus, Smith, Fauna Brit. India, (Rept. & Amphibia) III, p.202. Specimens collected.-1 tTuv. from Inspection Bungalow Inanpur, Manbhum district, Bihar, (~6.xi.1948), Chota Nagpur Survey. Supra labials 8~ 4th and 5th touch,ing the eye; totallength-390 mm. Dark reddish-brown above with black markings on the edge of the Bcales. On the basis of· colour pattern as found on the dorsal scales Smith (loc. cit.) has separated Oycl'Urus into five well defined colour forms found in different geographical areas. According to him, it corresponds with the form I as shown· in his text-fig. 63A.

LYcodon aulicus (J..Jinn.) 1943. Lycodon auZicus, Smith, Fauna Brit. India (Rept. & Amphibia) III, pp. 263-266. . Specimens collected.-l from Chaurasi, 3 miles west of Inanpur, Manbhum district, Bihar, (26.xi.48) ; 1 juv. (unsexed) "from under stones, Maithon dam site, 6 miles N. W of Barakar, Manbhlim district, Bihar, (15.xi.1948), Chota Nagpur Survey.

1 :Fowler, S. S., Proc, zool. Soc. Lond. pp. 735-851 (1933). 390 Records of the Indian Museum [VOL. 53,

Scales in the midbody 17 ; ventraIs 178 & 182 ; anal divided; upper labials 9, 3 rd, 4th and 5th touching eye; white cross bands on the dorsal aspect 14 and 20, faintly marked on the posterior part, of the body. Specimens have been collected from Sikkim (I. M. Reg. No. 16441) ; Naini Tal district, Western Himalayas (I. M. Reg. No. i6510) and Nepal Valley (I. M. Reg. No. 18656).

Natrix stolata (I.Jinn.) 1943. Natrix stolata, Smith, Fauna Brit. India (Rept. & Amphibia) III, pp. 303·305. Speeimens collected.-26,j, collected 1 mile north of Barakar, Burd wan district, W Bengal, (8.xi.1948) ; 1 ~ with mutilated tail (Sta. 6 b), from the lleighbourhood of Nirsa about 6 miles west of Barakar, Manbhum district, Bihar (IO.xi.1948); 1 from Kanja Pahar, 13 ~jles from Barakar Railway Station, (20.xi.1948); 2 from I! mile west of Inanpur, Manbhum district, Bihar (24-.xi.I948); 1 from the base of the Panchet Hills, It miles "est of Inanpur, l\Ianbhum district, Bihar (25.xi.48); 1 from Kumardhubi, 2 miles from the Inspection Bungalow Manbhum district, Bihar (14.x~.1948); 1 from 2l miles south of IJJ8nFur Manbhum district, Bihar (27.xi.1948), "Caught near the edge of the Nallah " 1 ~ collected "in a paddy field on the bank of Konar river, south of Hazaribag district," Bihar (17.xi.1951), Chota Nagpur Survey. The last specimen mentioned in the list wa.s collected by Dr. B. Biswas. In all the examples, there are R upper labials, 3rd, 4th and 5th touch ing the eye. The maximum total length of the largest specimen of the series 560 mm., while that of the smallest 240 mm. The tail occupies almost the quarters of the totallength. Distributed all over India. In Burma it has been recorded from TenasseriIn and this seems to be its southernmost limit. So far, there is no record of its occurrence in the Malay Peninsula. de Rooijl has also doubted its existence in that area.

Natrix piscator (Schneider) 1799. Hydru8 piscator, Schneider, Ht·st. Amph. I, p. 247 (type locality: East Indies). Specimens collected.-One example (Sta. 8) from Maithon Dam site about 6 miles from Barakar, Manbhum district, Bihar (13.xi.1948) ;, one collected from a " pool, It miles W of Barakar", Bihar (24.xi.1948); one (dissected specimen) near a naIlah, It miles S. of Inanpur, Manbhum district, Bihar (12.xii.1948); one (dissected specimen) from a field near Inanpur, Manbhum district, Bihar, Chota Nagpur Survey. Supra labials 9, in 1 exat!!ple 8, 4th and 5th touching the eye; scales keeled in 19 rows in the midbody'. 'Tentral counts in 4 specimens varIes between 126-150 ; subcaudals 72-84.

1 de Rooij, Reptile8 of tke Indo-Australian Archipelago (Ophidia), p. 88 (1917). 19551 M. N. AC.HA.BJI : Okelonians and snakes 891

This snake is so variable in colour and in the setting of the blaok dots on the dorsal aspe(}t that S~ithl has erected four geographioal races, based on these characters. One example (colle.cted on 13th November, 1948) has yellowish ventrals edged with black, which fairly approaches the form II of Smith -(loco c~:t.), while another (oollected on 24th November, 1948) has pinkish colour on the ventral aspect nearing to flavipunctata, which is distributed from the Indo Chinese region to the west as far as Assam. It has been recorded from Sikkim, E. Himalayas (I. M. Reg. 'NQ~ 18668); Nepal, alt. ca., 5,000 ft. (I. M. Reg. No. 15832-15834) and Dhar.unpuf, alt. 02., 5,300 ft., Western Himalayas.

Boiga trigonata (Schneider) 1943. Boiga trigonata, Smith, Fauna Brit. India (Rept.. & Amph.) III, p. 349. Specimens collected.-l juv. (unsexed) "from under stones, Charan IIllls, about 6 miles N. W. Baraka.r Railway Station ", Manbhum district, Bih8/r (20.xi.I948). Chota Nagpur Survey. Preocular 1. Scales in the midbody 21 ; ven.tra.} 232; subcaudaIs 80. Total length-256 mm. Greyish~brown above with vertebral series of black edged shaped marks. Lower side having black dots on the margin of the ventrals. Specimens have been recorded from Sabathu near Simla. alt. ca. 6,500 ft. (I. M. Reg. No. 7836).

Enhydris enhydris (Schneider)

1799. Hydrus enkyari8, Sohneider, His, Ampk. I, p. 245 [based on Rus~ell'6 Ind. Serp., I, p. 35, pI. xxx] (t,ype looality : Ankapilly Lake, India). 1943. Enhydri8 enklJdris, Smith, Fa'una Brit. India (Rept. & Amph,) III, p.383. Specimens collected.-5 specimens thus: 4 adult from a private pond full of ajuatic vegetation in the village Deriana near Nirsha about 7 miles from Barakar, Bihar (10.xi.1948); 1 from Sultandih, 3 miles N. of Inanpur, Manbhum district, BilliLr (8.xii.1948). Chota Nagpur Survey. Snout blunt (rounded) ; 8 upper labials, 4th entering the eye, last one very small. Scales smooth in 19 rows; ventrals 14-8-168 ; sub ... caudals 48-68 (counts based on 5 specimens). Smith (loc. cit.) on the basis of colour pattern divided the three species of Enh.ydris into two distinct coloul_ forms. According to his views, the specimens under report conforms with group I as shown by bim. A very widely distributed species, found from north-ea~tern India to Assam. It has also been recorded as far north 8S the Himalayan foot hills.

1 Smith, M. A., Fauna Brit. India (Rept. & Amph.) III, p. 29~ (1943). 4 ZSI/55 14 392 RerMds of the lnilMitn, Mmeum [VOL. 53,

Family VIPERIDAE Subfamily VIPBBINAB E~ carinatus (Schneider) 1801. P8e'Ufloboa carinata, Schneider, Hist. Am.J')". TI, p. 285 [based on 'Russen] (tIP8 looality: Ami near Madras); Speci'tnens collected.-2 (dissected specimens) "from the foot of the Panchet hills, Ii miles S. of Inanpur Inspection Bungalow, Manbhum district. Bihar (10.xii.1948), Chota Nagpur Survey. Total lengtk.-324 and 280 mm. respectively. It is essentially a desert form but has also been recorded at an altitude of 5,000 ft. (I. M. R.eg. No. 8581, Kalagan, Baluchistg,n).

MG[PC":)!-4 ZSI/55-12.2- 68-500.